“I Was Dating Someone Who Began Becoming Observant. We Broke Up, I Found Faith, and He Left It Behind”

Adva Postaji, 22, grew up in a nonreligious home. She describes her life before becoming observant as ordinary and lacking meaning. “I was in a relationship with a guy who didn’t respect or appreciate me, and I thought that was just how things were supposed to be. I was struggling, and I had no one to turn to for advice because I didn’t know what the Torah’s perspective was. In the morning, you get up without saying the morning blessings. You just get up. Shabbats were ordinary and boring, like just another day you had to get through. That was my life: getting up, going to work, coming back, sleeping—it was boring. But especially Shabbats: I didn’t know what Shabbat was or what real oneg Shabbat, the joy of Shabbat, meant. Life on Shabbat was parties, clubs, and bars, and life was plain and simple—but something inside me told me it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

What did you think about Judaism and Torah-observant Jews before you became observant?

“I grew up in a home that was defined as traditional only. I didn’t understand modest girls. It seemed like a primitive world to me. We were told that religious people get married after a few dates, and I didn’t understand that. When you are in a nonreligious world, the information you receive about the religious and Haredi world is full of stereotypes. I thought it was a primitive world, and I never believed I would enter that world.”

What is interesting is that the young man Adva was dating began becoming more observant, and about a year ago, she followed in his footsteps. Watching Hidabroot videos on TikTok strengthened her even more—a development that would later prove just how much it saved Adva’s soul.  

"כשאני צופה בסרטונים שעוזרים לי לצאת מעצבות בדרך היהודית, אני מרגישה שמישהו מדבר אלי"

“The Relationship Ended, and the Inspirational Videos on Social Media Only Helped Me”

What did you feel when you watched the first video?

“I felt that someone was speaking to me and trying to send me a message. The videos can appear when I’m feeling sad, and suddenly the video seems to read my thoughts—the video speaks to me. I thought that to get out of sadness, I needed to drink alcohol or go to a club. But when I watch videos that help me emerge from sadness through a Jewish path, I feel that someone is speaking to me—to Adva. Someone is telling me exactly the message I need to hear.”

After three years, when the relationship ended and Adva learned that the young man had left the path of Torah and mitzvot, she understood—thanks to a video by Rabbi Zamir Cohen—that he was not meant for her. What is more, the strengthening she received through Hidabroot videos on social media helped her stay joyful and not fall apart.

“What strengthens me is knowing that I can go on social media, and instead of watching some silly breakup video, I can watch a video of Rabbi Zamir Cohen talking about finding one’s match and how important a person’s actions are, because those actions determine the match they receive. When I was having a hard time after the relationship ended, a video by Rabbi Zamir strengthened me in understanding that there was nothing to cry about. I took on observing shomer negiah and attending Torah classes, while the guy? He is at parties and clubs. I can see firsthand what the rabbi said: Hashem distanced him from me, and, with Hashem’s help, He will bring me a groom who is strong in mitzvot.”  

Many Jews are still deeply immersed in TikTok, far from Judaism. We can reach their hearts only with your help. To become partners in the major mutual-responsibility initiative of Hidabroot Digital, click here >>>

“Without Judaism, I Would Be in a Bad Place”

How did the people around you respond when they saw you growing closer to Judaism?

“My mother was very happy, although the issue of Shabbat was difficult for her. I live with my father. My parents are divorced, so it was more complicated to get to my mother on Shabbats. My father was neither for nor against it. It was hard for my friends because I stopped going out to clubs and bars. They saw me in skirts, and on Thursdays I went to Torah classes, but they saw the major positive change I had gone through, and that’s what reassured them.”

Where would you be today if you had not become observant?

“In my current situation, after a breakup, I think I would be in a bad place. I would not have been able to get through it without guidance from my rabbanit and watching the videos. I believe I would have been in clubs, on the floor. Without my connection to Judaism, I would be less happy, I would have less faith, I would respect my parents less, and I would be angrier and more pessimistic. Without Judaism, I would be in a bad place—in a very bad situation. For sure.”

In closing, Adva wants to share a message: “There are many teenagers and young people who have no chance of getting to know Judaism through the Hidabroot website, its newsletter, or its channel, because they are simply on TikTok and other social networks most of the time. At best, they watch meaningless content, and at worst, harmful content. The more and more inspirational Hidabroot videos there are on social media, the greater the chance that teenagers and young people will get to know Judaism, and that their lives will be transformed for the better, as mine was. A huge thank-you to Hidabroot for this new initiative.”